fantasy

Slade House

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by David Mitchell

Reviewed by SA

Seeing as how October is a good month for spooky things, I think it’s a good time to tell you a little about Slade House, and what you’re getting yourself into in picking up David Mitchell’s latest novel. I fully recommend a comfy chair, and a dimly lit room, maybe with a flickering candle for effect, because this book will catch you, draw you in, and keep your heart racing until the end.

Summary

From “one of the most electric writers alive” (The Boston Globe) comes a taut, intricately woven, spine-chilling, reality-warping novel. Set across five decades, beginning in 1979 and coming to its astonishing conclusion on October 31, 2015, Slade House invites readers to experience yet again David Mitchell’s extraordinary imagination.

I’ll try to sum it up for you, without giving anything away: a house that really shouldn’t fit where it is; a strange invitation, where dreams seemingly come true; you’re starting to get suspicious that something is wrong, something isn’t quite normal… and by then, it’s too late.

This novel is incredibly short, something I did not expect coming from the author of “Cloud Atlas.” I had absolutely loved that novel, which is when I jumped when an ARC for Slade House became available. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was certainly amazed. Like Mitchell’s other novels, at least those that I’ve read, the plot spans decades, stretching across time, and is incredibly complex.

However, this novel repeats the same formula five times: five different people, one every 9 years, starting in 1979, and a trip to the Slade House, a house that doesn’t seem to exist any other time of the decade. Yet, even so, it doesn’t seem to feel repetitive: the author manages to make you relate to the character who you’re now following, even cheer for them, hope that they can get out. Slowly you begin to wonder what’s real and what’s not: is the character now narrating their experience reliable, or not? Who is on their side, and who is under some sort of spell?

A 13 year old, somewhat autistic kid; a recently divorced cop; an overweight university student with a huge crush on a guy in her paranormal  club; a young woman from New York, searching for her sister; and a PhD psychiatrist, who is more than she seems. You follow them into the Slade house… will you follow them back out?

All this builds up at an incredible pace, that is somehow slow enough to create tension, but fast enough to make you feel almost breathless. How did I finish this book so quickly? Is it because I didn’t want to put it down? The slow reveal of “The truth” behind the events, the pieces slowly coming together over the centuries, is actually quite astonishing, and you realize just how brilliant of an author Mitchell is.

Just like Slade house, the reader only pops into existence every 9 years. We just have enough time to access the situation, to figure out who’s our first person narrator (I would like to point out the irony in being in this person’s mind, but I’m sure this will be funnier after you’ve finished reading the novel) and how they are connected to everything else, before their inevitable trip to the Slade house. It’s interesting to follow the evolution over time, how the place has changed, how the people have changed. Time itself seems to be a character in this novel.

Mitchell does seem to like his invented words, however. He sure has a right to. Some, however, felt a little weird, especially at first, in 1979. When they are used, it seems almost like a science fiction novel, rather than the fantasy fiction genre. It was slightly odd, but probably my only qualm about the novel.

If you’re looking for something spooky this halloween, pick up Slade House, on October 27th. it’s a fun, fast read. For fans of “The Bone Clocks”.

A Magic Dark and Bright

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by Jenny Adams Perinovic

Reviewed by SA

This book made me mad for all the right reasons. Let me just start by saying that. Why? Because the ending is amazing. Really, incredibly, painfully amazing; and so is everything leading up to it. I was spellbound, from start to finish.

Summary

She meant to help a ghost…not unleash a curse.

Amelia Dupree hasn’t seen the Woman in White since the night her brother died.  The ghost seems to have disappeared from the woods surrounding Asylum, Pennsylvania—that is, until Charlie Blue moves into the creepy old MacAllister House next door. Amelia can’t help liking him, even though she spent her childhood thinking his grandmother was a witch. And she definitely can’t ignore the connection between his arrival and the Woman in White’s return. 

Then Amelia learns that the Woman in White is a prisoner, trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead. Devastated by the idea that her brother could be suffering a similar fate, Amelia decides to do whatever it takes to help the Woman in White find peace–and Charlie agrees to help her.

But when Amelia’s classmates start to drown in the Susquehanna River, one right after another, rumors swirl as people begin to connect the timing of Charlie’s arrival with the unexplained deaths. As Charlie and Amelia uncover the dark history of Asylum, they realize they may have unleashed an unspeakable evil. One they have to stop before everything they love is destroyed.

This is a trope breaking novel: as soon as I felt it turning towards the familiar, it changed its direction and gave me something new. Like with the character of Amelia, a young woman recovering from a very painful and traumatic event. She could easily have become obnoxious, but she instead went through incredible growth over the course of the novel. Or with her relationship with Charlie, which at some times seemed to take precedence over the plot, but then defied expectation by turning into something, well, different. And there I must stop, to avoid spoiling anything for you. Suffice to say, this is not your normal YA.

The plot is oddly paced: at times, it feels like not much is happening, while at others, it’s action after action. But it adds to the tone of the novel, where it feels as if the characters are allowed to return to a normality before being thrown back into horror. It also adds to the suspense, the mystery of it all, and its slow resolution, which is sure to raise anticipation, and leave you with a few questions… It all leads through amazing twists and a roller coaster of an ending, leaving you breathless, and craving for more.

From the first line – A woman haunted the woods behind my house. – you know you’re in for something amazing, all the way to the end… and hopefully beyond, because, after a cliffhanger like that, I am going to NEED a sequel!

A great and thrilling novel about life and death, about ghosts and magic, about the dangers of prejudice and jumping to conclusions, A Magic Dark and Bright is a must read for paranormal lovers everywhere. Beware – chills included.  Comes out April 28th.

Get in Trouble

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by Kelly Link

Reviewed by SA

There is something magical about short fiction; the stories, instead of being self contained, seem like just22125258 glimpses into other universes, short windows into another wold, transporting you, somehow capturing all of your self in just a few pages. And somehow, the stories linger, still in the back of you mind days, months after you have finished reading it. Get in Trouble may however be my favorite collection I have read to date, with the stories still vivid in my mind, unforgettable gems of fiction.

Get in Trouble is a collection of nine science fiction and fantasy stories that spans from superheroes to pyramids to robot boyfriends. In “The Summer People,” the first story, a young girl tries to care for a home of mysterious people (?) while sick.  In “The New Boyfriend,” a friendship is tested when a teenager falls for her best friend’s robot boyfriend. There’s a man trying to reconnect with his former co-star/love interest, as she pursues Ghosts for a reality show; there’s both a superhero and a dentists’ convention in the same hotel; there’s teenagers hanging out in their own pyramids; ghosts stories on a spaceship; a woman with two shadows…

Each of the stories draws you in immediately. I would describe them as being set in the here and now, but shifted a few universes over. The rules of their world are the same, but not quite. By the time you’ve picked up one what those rules are, on where you are and what is happening, you are already entranced. You quickly fall in love with them, with the people you meet there: you want to know more. Many of the stories are quite short to read, and leave you wanting to know what happens next, forever imprinted on your mind. Switching from one story to another was a process, one which made me have to put down the book and revel on what I had just finished, before actually moving on.

While the style of the author is immediately recognizable, the stories show off her versatility. Different perspectives, different genres, one of the stories even a letter, Link manages to keep you reading not only with her remarkable plots, but also by the diversity of styles. Admittedly, some stories are better than others, but what is great about Get in Trouble is that there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Fans of Neil Gaiman will absolutely love her stories; I would honestly love to see what the two of them could write together.

If you’re looking for something you can read and know you will enjoy, pick up this book. It’s a great, fun read; one of those books that makes you feel that reading is magical, all over again.